forextremefandomcom-20200215-history
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE for Extreme, appearing on its RAW brand. He is considered one of WWE's senior competitors, having been with the company over 20 years. Mark Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (which later became World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002 and WWE for Extreme in 2006) as The Undertaker in November of that year and has remained with the company ever since. The Undertaker has two contrasting gimmicks: "The Deadman", an undead, occult-like figure, and "The American Bad Ass", a biker. The specialty matches connected to The Undertaker are the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the notorious Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. The Undertaker's kayfabe half-brother is Kane, with whom he has teamed as the Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker's real-life daughter is Alisha Callaway, who portrays the character Angel on RAW with her father. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with a 14–0 record. Calaway is a seven-time world heavyweight champion: a four-time WWF/E Champion and two-time World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker, and a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion as Master of Pain. The Undertaker is also a two-time WWF Hardcore champion, and a eight-time world tag team champion: a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has been named by WWE as the greatest big man of all time. Calaway is also the only active wrestler who appeared on the company's very first RAW program, who is still with WWE today. Professional wrestling career Early career (1984–1990) Calaway made his debut in 1984 in World Class Championship Wrestling under the ring name "Texas Red". He wrestled and lost his first match against Bruiser Brody. In 1988, after four years in the promotion, he left and joined the Continental Wrestling Association (which became the United States Wrestling Association after Jerry Jarrett merged CWA with WCCW), wrestling under several gimmicks. On April 1, 1989, he was booked to win his first professional wrestling title, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler, under the stage name "The Master of Pain". While performing as "The Punisher", Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989 when Eric Embry forfeited the title. As he went into singles competition, Calaway took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously and defeated Johnny Ace at Capital Combat and defeated Brian Pillman at the Clash of the Champions. In July 1990, he wrestled against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash, but lost when Luger pinned him after a clothesline. WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, after losing his last match to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting on September 1, 1990 at a live event. During his stint in WCW, Calaway then briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Punisher Dice Morgan. After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). World Wrestling Entertainment (1990–present) Debut and various feuds (1990–1994) Calaway made his WWF debut as "Cain The Undertaker" at a taping of WWF Superstars on November 19, 1990. The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Under this Deadman persona, he was impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calaway no-selling his opponents' attacks. Calaway made his official on-camera debut on November 22 at Survivor Series as a heel when he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar team, where he was simply called The Undertaker. Approximately one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. He also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Shortly after Survivor Series, "Cain" was dropped from his name, and he was called simply The Undertaker. It was at this time that The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer — a histrionic, ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn from which The Undertaker was said to draw mystical power, reviving his strength during his matches. During his heel run, Undertaker would place his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers) in a bodybag and carry them to the back. He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. The win was the first in his undefeated streak at the event. He began his first major feud with The Ultimate Warrior, when he attacked the Warrior and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of his manager, Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlor interview segment. After a year of battles with the Warrior, Randy Savage, Sid Justice, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hulk Hogan, he defeated Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series with the help of Ric Flair, and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history until having this record broken by Yokozuna in 1993. WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan. In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when The Undertaker stopped him, becoming a fan favorite for the first time. Then, The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII. The Undertaker defeated Giant Gonzales at Wrestlemania IX. He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, culminating in a WWF Championship casket match against champion Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous wrestlers, winning the match. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return. Return; feud with Mankind (1994–1997) betrayed Undertaker by hitting him with the urn he is seen carrying here.]] After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed the "Under''faker''" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a rematch, another casket match. Throughout most of 1995, The Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole The Undertaker's urn, and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace and attacking the Undertaker. Later, The Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam. Several weeks later, The Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series. The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask. In the main event of the 1996 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, when Diesel interfered in the match to cost the Undertaker the championship. One month later, at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, The Undertaker came bursting from under the ring, dragging Diesel underneath, allowing Hart to get the victory. This feud culminated in a match between Diesel and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XII, in which The Undertaker was victorious. His next feud commenced the very next night, when Mankind made his debut, interfering in The Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost The Undertaker several matches. The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. Mankind cost the Undertaker the WWF Intercontinental Championship at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog, assisting champion Goldust to victory. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying The Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" The Undertaker with the Mandible claw, giving him the win. After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match in the main event of In Your House: Buried Alive. The Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave, but after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other superstars, The Undertaker was ultimately "Buried Alive". After being buried alive, The Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft (6.1 m) above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though The Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape The Undertaker's clutches. The Undertaker then briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had become a thorn in his side since his arrival. At In Your House: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match. By the end of 1996, The Undertaker began a feud with Vader, culminating in a loss to Vader at the Royal Rumble after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé. After this loss, The Undertaker began to focus his attention on the WWF Championship. Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998) At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion. After the event, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin with The Undertaker, using the threat of revealing The Undertaker's "biggest secret". In the storyline, Bearer announced that The Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. The Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Bearer announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, The Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived. His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship. The feud culminated at Badd Blood: In Your House, where The Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, The Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged The Undertaker to fights, but The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker and Kane then formed a brief partnership when Kane saved Undertaker from an attack by D-Generation X. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane betrayed The Undertaker and cost him the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened. After a two month hiatus, The Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV. The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, which The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire. The Undertaker's feud with Mankind was renewed afterward, and they faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 ft (4.9 m) cell onto the Spanish announce table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious and finished the match by Tombstone Piledriving Mankind. numerous times.]] At Fully Loaded, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag champions lasted for only two months, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of RAW is WAR. The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, The Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though The Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect. In September, the storyline continued, and The Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Vince McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, The Undertaker and Kane were booked in a Triple Threat match with Austin for his WWF Championship; McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam, so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between the two brothers for the title, with Austin as the special guest referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit The Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and The Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker, and counted out both brothers. Finally, The Undertaker became a villain the next night on RAW is WAR for the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane. After Survivor Series, The Undertaker returned his attention back to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, The Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to his symbol, raising it high into the arena. The Undertaker, however, lost the match after Kane interfered. Ministry of Darkness (1999) In January 1999, The Undertaker returned and formed the Ministry of Darkness, developing a more evil, Satanic and a more frightening persona than ever before. Undertaker stated that he was taking orders from a "Higher Power". He often appeared in a black robe and sat on a throne. With the help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on various WWE superstars, which were meant to bring out the more evil side of superstars so as to recruit them into his Ministry. The Ministry eventually merged with The Corporation alliance to form the Corporate Ministry. During this time, The Undertaker was booked to defeat Austin for his third WWF Championship at Over the Edge with help from Shane McMahon, the special referee. Two weeks later, RAW is WAR revealed that Vince McMahon had been The Undertaker's "Higher Power" all along. After The Undertaker dropped the WWF Championship back to Austin one night after King of the Ring, and lost a First Blood match at Fully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and the Corporate Ministry disbanded. The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed with The Big Show in a tag team known as The UnHoly Alliance, which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice. In September 1999, The Undertaker left the WWF for 8 months due to a groin injury. He then tore a pectoral muscle in January 2000, just before a scheduled return at the Royal Rumble. Big Evil/ American Bad Ass (2000–2003) .]] The Undertaker took on a second persona during this portion of his WWF career. He abandoned the Gothic mortician-themed attire, his funeral dirge ring music, allusions to the supernatural, and the accompanying theatrics of his ring entrance. The Undertaker now took on the personality of a biker, riding to the ring on a motorcycle, and wearing sunglasses and bandanas to the ring. His ring music was now replaced with popular rock songs of the time, like Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" and Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which the name of The Undertaker's new gimmick originated), though it was accompanied by the characteristic opening bell gong of The Undertaker's original theme. Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag title, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of RAW is WAR. This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane ran from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask. The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series. Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after Kurt switched places with his real life brother, Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker promised to make someone "famous" and did so when he chokeslamed Rikishi off the roof of the cell. In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a shot at the title at No Way Out, facing Edge and Christian and then champions the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated almost the entire match but were not the winners. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0. He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After The Undertaker and Kane acquired the WWF Tag Title from Edge and Christian, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction dropped the title. With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title. As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara. At SummerSlam, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle (this would be the last time that The Undertaker and Kane would team up until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker became a villain once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his long hair short and called himself "Big Evil". At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to capture the WWF Hardcore Championship. The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble in 2002 when Maven eliminated him by dropkicking him from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. On an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock mentioned The Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble, angering The Undertaker. The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off at No Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8, and, as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son David Flair. Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter. A no disqualification stipulation was added to the match, and The Undertaker defeated Flair. After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against the Undisputed Champion Triple H. The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. On the July 1 episode of RAW, The Undertaker turned into a fan favorite again after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match and raising Hardy's hand as a show of respect. The Undertaker, however, dropped the title at Vengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from RAW to SmackDown!, alongside former RAW talent Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. The Undertaker challenged Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that ended in a double-disqualification. Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion. The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage, sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke. A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX. Jones, however, was removed prior to the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones. Over the remainder of the year, he was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4 SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever." Return of the Deadman (2004–2007) In the storyline leading up to WrestleMania XX, Kane was haunted by vignettes proclaiming The Undertaker's return. The first was during the Royal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him. At WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker, accompanied by Paul Bearer and in his "Deadman" persona, returned and defeated Kane. At the following Smackdown! Pay-Per-View Judgment Day, The Undertaker would go on to defeat Booker T. Three months later, Bearer was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz at the direction of Paul Heyman, who then took "control" of Undertaker. At The Great American Bash The Undertaker fought a handicap match against the Dudleys, with the stipulation that if he didn't lay down and purposely lose, Heyman would bury Bearer in cement. The Undertaker won and stopped Heyman from burying Bearer, then buried him anyway, explaining that Bearer was merely a liability now and that he had no use for him anymore. .]] After defeating the Dudley Boyz, The Undertaker began a feud by challenging then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) to a title match at SummerSlam, which The Undertaker lost by disqualification. At No Mercy, The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first ever "Last Ride" match, although The Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. After a brief program with Heidenreich, The Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged JBL to a championship rematch at Armageddon in a Fatal Four-Way match, in which The Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference. The feud culminated in a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble, where The Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory. Soon afterward, Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, in a storyline where Orton claimed that he would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak (this would be the first Wrestlemania in which the undefeated streak would become a major selling point for the Undertaker's matches at the marquee event and for Wrestlemania itself;it was only mentioned in passing before this). Even with help from his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy failed, and The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0. He returned for the June 16 episode of ''SmackDown! but lost to JBL, thanks to interference from Randy Orton. After The Great American Bash, The Undertaker became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, a position that JBL felt he should have. As part of the feud, on the following SmackDown!, The Undertaker lost a number one contender match against JBL, once again due to interference from Orton. With this, The Undertaker resumed his feud with Orton. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated The Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. The storyline intensified as the two taunted each other with caskets, leading to a casket match at No Mercy, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. When the charred casket was opened, however, The Undertaker had once again vanished. He returned at the Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket. The Undertaker returned to SmackDown! in early December to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon. After winning the match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling. .]] In early 2006 at the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker returned during Kurt Angle's celebration of his world title defense against Mark Henry on a horse drawn cart, signaling for a title shot. As part of their storyline feud, The Undertaker lost his match with Angle at No Way Out after a thirty minute bout. Undertaker cornered Angle after the match, and after a stare down, told Angle that he had his number and that he was not finished with him yet. The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on SmackDown! when Henry attacked The Undertaker from behind, costing him the title. This began an angle between the duo, as The Undertaker then challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania 22, and Henry, like Orton a year before him, vowed to end Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. The Undertaker defeated Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania, keeping his storyline undefeated streak alive. Following Vince McMahon's For Extreme speech at WrestleMania 22, Undertaker was drafted back to RAW, where he entered into a program with the recently reformed D-Generation X. As part of the storyline, both Undertaker and Triple H wanted to prove they were still relevant in the new For Extreme Era, culminating in a near thirty-minute bout between the two at Backlash, which Triple H won. Shortly afterwards, Calaway wrestled a match with [[John Cena on the May 8th edition of RAW in which he suffered a minor fracture in his hand and had to take some time off. Undertaker returned in August of 2006 as part of the SmackDown! brand, taking part in an elimination Fatal Four Way alongside Raven and John Cena at Unforgiven for Jeff Hardy's WWE Championship. Undertaker would be the last eliminated, putting Hardy over when Hardy pinned him following a Swanton Bomb to retain the championship. After the match, Undertaker raised Hardy's hand in a show of respect, calling back their ladder match on RAW in 2002. Following this, Undertaker began teaming up with Kane once again, reuniting the Brothers of Destruction. Together they unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Tag Team Championship before feuding with Scorpion and Bret Hart. Kane turned on his brother, however, in an angle where he would attack Undertaker while screaming, "Help me." On the September 29 edition of SmackDown!, Kane chokeslammed Undertaker through the ring, officially turning heel and once again breaking up the Brothers of Destruction. Following this, Undertaker began feuding with Reaper, a masked wrestler with a similar occult-like gimmick. Their feud culminated in a Buried Alive Match at Cyber Sunday, a match where fans could vote for Undertaker to face either Reaper, Ricky Banderas or Shadow. The fans chose Reaper. In the match's conclusion Undertaker's wife, Sara, got involved. Reaer attempted to bury both Undertaker and Sara, until they were rescued by UnlimitedExtreme. Following this, Undertaker would once again reunite with Kane, this time with both men being managed by Devin Jacobs. The Brothers of Destruction were subsequently drafted to the ECW brand, where Undertaker began slowly turning heel in an angle where it was implied he'd used his powers to give Devin Jacobs cancer in order to control him. The angle was dropped after a few weeks when Undertaker was taken off of ECW. The Circle (2007) In late 2006, WWE for Extreme purchased their competitor, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), turning their Thursday show into a fourth WWEFE brand. Undertaker returned to television on the March 1st episode of iMPACT!, defeating Paul London and Brian Kendrick in a handicap match. He quickly formed an alliance with Refugee Tim, becoming a member of The Circle, a group of influential superstars who were friends backstage. With Tim he captured the TNA Tag Team Championship, becoming the second of two teams to hold the titles after WWEFE's purchase of TNA. During this time, Undertaker began feuding with Randy Orton, picking up their feud where it had left off in 2005. Orton sent Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes after him, but Undertaker defeated both of them and John Cena in a handicap match on iMPACT!. Orton faced Undertaker directly on the April 5th edition of iMPACT! in a match which Orton won. A week later, the iMPACT! brand was closed by WWEFE and Undertaker was stripped of the tag titles (along with Refugee Tim) and drafted to ECW. Undertaker continued teaming with Refugee Tim on ECW, occaisonally partnering with Tim's wife, Torrie Wilson. He also began feuding with The Joker, culminating in a match between the two at One Night Stand for the then-vacant Hardcore Championship. Undertaker captured the Hardcore Championship for a second time. This lead to a split between Undertaker and Refugee Tim, when Tim attacked Undertaker backstage to take the Hardcore Championship for himself. As a result Undertaker was taken off of television. In reality, he needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Return to RAW & Angel (2008-present) Undertaker returned to television on the September 8 edition of RAW, appearing for the debut of his daughter, Angel. As a result he began feuding with Blaze, who attacked Angel on an episode of RAW. The two were scheduled to compete in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy, but the match was canceled when Blaze failed to make it to the event due to his plane being held up in Toronto. Personal life He graduated from Waltrip High School in 1983 where he was a member of the basketball team. Calaway married his first wife, Jodi Lynn, in 1989, and they had a daughter, Alisha, born in 1990, and a son, Gunner, born in 1993, before the marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife, Sara, in St Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2000. The couple had two daughters together: Chasey (born on November 21, 2002) and Gracie (born on May 15, 2005). As of 2007, he and Sara were divorced, and he was romantically linked to fellow wrestler Michelle McCool. Calaway was an avid boxing fan and carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. This was also confirmed by fellow wrestler Batista in a televised interview for the Philippine news program TV Patrol World. Calaway is also an avid mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship shows. Calaway invests in real estate with business partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado called "The Calahart," a portmanteau of their last names. Calaway and his ex-wife Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs. Other media Calaway had a supporting role in the 1991 movie Suburban Commando opposite Hulk Hogan and Christopher Lloyd. In 2001, Calaway appeared out of character on the Canadian sports show Off the Record with Michael Landsberg. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **'As The Undertaker' ***Chokeslam ***''Hell's Gate'' (Modified gogoplata) – 2008–present ***''Last Ride'' (Elevated powerbomb) – 2000–present ***''Tombstone piledriver'' **''Diving leg drop **'As "Mean" Mark Callous' ***''Callous Clutch'' (Jaw clutch) ***Heart punch *'Signature moves' **Big boot **Corner clothesline **Dragon sleeper **Fujiwara armbar **Guillotine leg drop onto the chest of an apron hung opponent **No-handed over the top rope suicide dive **''Old School'' (Arm twist ropewalk chop) **Reverse STO **Running DDT **Running flying clothesline **Running jumping leg drop **Sidewalk slam **Snake Eyes *'Managers' **General Skandor Akbar **Paul Bearer **Paul E. Dangerously **Theodore Long **Brother Love **Dutch Mantel **Downtown Bruno *'Nicknames' **"The Phenom" **"The Deadman" **"The Red Devil" **"Big Evil" **"The Man From The Dark Side" **"The Lord of Darkness" *'Entrance themes' **"Miracle Man" by Ozzy Osbourne (NJPW) **"China White" by Scorpions (NWA/WCW) **"Funeral Dirge" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1990) **"Funeral March" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1991-1994) **"The Grim Reaper" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1994–1995) **"Graveyard Symphony" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1996–1998) **"Dark Side" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1998–1999) **"Ministry" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1999) **"American Bad Ass" by Kid Rock (WWF; 2000) **"Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" by Limp Bizkit (WWF/E; 2000–2002) **"Going Postal" (WWE Production Theme) by Jim Johnston (WWF/E DVD releases; in place of Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) and American Bad Ass due to copyright issues) **"Dead Man" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 2002) **"Big Evil" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 2002) **"You're Gonna Pay" by Jim Johnston (WWE; 2002–2003) **"Rest in Peace" by Jim Johnston (WWE; 2004–2011) Filmography Championships and accomplishments *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI Feud of the Year (1991) vs. The Ultimate Warrior **PWI Match of the Year (1998) vs. Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring **PWI Match of the Year (2009)vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV **PWI Match of the Year (2010) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI **PWI ranked him #'6' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1997 **PWI ranked him #'5' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1998 **PWI ranked him #'8' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1999 **PWI ranked him #'2' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002 **PWI ranked him #'5' of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2007 **PWI ranked him #'6' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008 **PWI ranked him #'8' of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2010 *'United States Wrestling Association' **USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'World Class Wrestling Association' **WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment' **WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kane **World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **WWF/E Championship (4 times) **WWF Hardcore Championship (2 times) **WWF Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Steve Austin (1), The Big Show (2), The Rock (1) and Kane (2) **TNA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Refugee Tim **Slammy Award for WWF's Greatest Hit (1996) Sucking Diesel **Slammy Award for Best Tattoo (1997) **Slammy Award for Best Entrance Music (1997) **Slammy Award for Star of the Highest Magnitude (1997) **Undefeated streak at WrestleMania (14–0) **The WWE ranked him at # 2 in their list of "Top 50 Superstars of all Time", behind Shawn Michaels who was ranked # 1. However, the list has been disputed and criticized by several WWE Hall of Famers including Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin on their Twitter accounts. *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter' **5 Star Match (1997) vs. Shawn Michaels in a Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood. **Best Gimmick (1990–1994) **Best Heel (1991) **Most Overrated (2001) **Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (2001) **Worst Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Giant González **Worst Worked Match of the Year (2001) with Kane vs. KroniK at Unforgiven **Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fam] (Class of 2004) *'The Mirror' **The Undertaker's Undefeated Streak at Wrestlemania has been ranked by The Mirror as the 7th greatest winning streak in sports history (it was the only streak from professional wrestling to be ranked in the list). Won during The Invasion.}} The Undertaker's fourth reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion.}} WrestleMania record Category:1962 births Category:Wrestlers Category:WWE for Extreme Category:WWE champions Category:Ministry of Darkness Category:World Heavyweight champions Category:Tag team champions Category:1965 births